Adept

Techromancy Scrolls, Book 1

By: Erik Schubach

Narrated by: Hollie Jackson

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Almost 3,000 years after an extinction-level event on Earth, mankind seeks to regain its former glory, in a new world where magic and technology collide.

Laney Herder, a commoner in the realm of Wexbury, finds herself thrust into the world of nobles and knights. At the side of her Lady Celeste, Knight of the Realm, she goes on an epic journey from being a simple chicken farmer to one of the greatest heroes of the realm, while helping the Lands of Sparo avoid a second Great Mage War.

Can kindness and innocence defeat the oncoming storm?

©2015 Erik Schubach (P)2016 Erik Schubach

A strong first novel

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I listened to this book on my commutes. So it was free time, but it made the time go by.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Split between Laney and Celeste. Laney is our story teller so she is the deepest character and therefor automatically one of the most interesting. But i loved the image of the strong beautiful young woman in kinght's armor. (Though for some reason ny mind's eye sees her as blonde, even though the author tells us multiple times she's a redhead.)

Have you listened to any of Hollie Jackson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, first time. I was fairly impressed. The trope of giving nobility a britt-like accent is an old one but it works.

Was Techromancy Scrolls: Adept worth the listening time?

yes

Any additional comments?

First off, lets be clear, this is a love story/action adventure between two young women. If that turns you off, it isn't for you.

The author has talent, but could have used a good editor. He has some trouble maintaining a separate "voice" for all his characters. In particular ALL his nobility say "Grand" when pleased. In one character's mouth, such an affectation helps create a unique personality. In many people's mouths, it muddies and confuses those lines of uniqueness.

He also at time uses repetitive phrases. A good editor would have pulled out both of these and made her re-write them.

Glad I didn't miss this!

Like others that have written reviews, I'm so glad I didn't overlook this title.

Techromancy Scrolls: Adept is an enjoyable story, with a rich fantasy tale at its core, that just happens to feature the female lead falling in love with another female. (Anybody expecting a sappy/dramatic love-focused story will be disappointed.)

The world is built up slowly and carefully, giving plenty of time for listeners to bond with the characters.

The voice acting is fabulous - entertaining and easy to listen to. The narrator has a range of voices to suit the different characters, and while the upper-British accent of Celeste occasionally falters, it does little to detract from the overall experience.

This is a title that had me purchasing the sequel just before it ended, so I wouldn't have to wait before continuing the story.

If you like your YA-fantasy with a light dusting of lesbian romance, do yourself a favor and purchase Techromancy Scrolls: Adept.

Like listening to a movie playing in your mind, amazing!

Absolutely love this book, the story is different from anything post apocalyptic and keeps you wanting more.

The narration is spot on and brings so much life into the story you swear the movie is playing in your mind.

Would love to see this adapted too the silver screen!

The Knights of Wexbury

If you could sum up Techromancy Scrolls: Adept in three words, what would they be?

it would be: Amazing, Adorable, and Unique

What was one of the most memorable moments of Techromancy Scrolls: Adept?

oh this will contain spoilers

when Laney realized that even the tiniest thing can win the battle and so she took in all the magic she can and used it to pull every last bit of iron from Raneth's Blood suffocating and killing him on his feet

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite... I have a lot though but maybe it would be when Celeste show Laney that defense is how you survive and she demonstrated by only defending and beat 4 fully trained knights of the realm. she didn't beat Bowin since she couldn't attack and she couldn't use other's weapon against him. i really like that scene and also... tiny goats!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to listen to it in one sitting but i had school and all so i had to cut it since it reached 10 hours man, but it was well worth listening to it i can tell you that.

Any additional comments?

buy this and give it a listen it is definitely worth it trust me I'm atleast 60% an expert at this and Ms. Hollie another homerun with this one!

Love this book

Any additional comments?

This book is awesome and only made better with Hollie narrating. Story is so good and keeps you engaged throughout the book. Hands down one of my favorite authors and definitely my favorite book of his.

another great story and narration

It didn't feel like it took over 10 hours at all. Holly`s narration brought the characters to life and sucked me right back into the story. I loved it and can't wait for the next story from this duo.

love at its best

came here from the Fix-It stories after being heartbroken by the end of that. to fall in love all over again.

I have to agree with everybody ever said Hollie Jackson and Erik Schubach make a wonderful pair he writes well she reads with emotions I love it

Fun

Great story with an even better narrator. Actually, the only book I liked enough to bother with a review on.

Even better the second time around.

I'd listed to this some time ago and continued with the series. I LOVED listening to it again. I loved going through the different emotions throughout the story. I enjoy a good RomCom, suspense, and action, but DANG this had all of it. Erik Schubach + Hollie Jackson= A POWERFUL COMBINATION!!

Butterflies in my tummy

I loved this story! It’s like all the things I love but into a novel. Hollie did great as a narrator and has great talent for voices. I had already purchased the next book 20 minutes from the end. I’ll probably finish this series this month.

Another winner

I bought this because I'd so enjoyed the Valkyrie Chronicles and because I was hoping that Audible would quickly put the complete series on download. I can't wait to here the next instalment.

I was surprised at how hooked I became.

I always try to get the negatives out the way first.

For this author it is the lack of editing. I know he is a self published author, but I wish he had even just a good Beta reader to help reduce the editing mistakes. Even the most accomplished authors need editors, because it gives a fresh set of eyes to catch repetition of phrases, or typing mistakes. The overused word here is, 'then'. Plus, some of the internal monologues aren't always needed.

Right, that's out of the way.

The positives. And they're enough for me to overcome my natural instinct to kill off reading a story that hasn't been edited well. In fact, I think this author is the only one who can happily take my money with that in mind. Why, you might rightly ask?

Well, simply because the world is well crafted, the characters are engaging, and we get a story that is unique.

Laney is finding her way in the world of Knights, all to avoid the stockade. And the real adventure all starts at Gus Davis Ford. I enjoyed the way Margaret had her own little bit of intrigue right at the start of Laney's new life, and Jace is not an afterthought.

There are plenty of moments of humour, and the action sequences are believable within this fantasy land.

I only have one complaint, and that is that only the first three stories in the series are in the Audible catalogue. I would love it if the other three (so far) were added. Especially as I listen to audio books more than reading hard copies these days for disability reasons. Okay, so it's not a complaint in the real sense of the word... but hey, a fan of this author, and especially this series of books, can hope. 🙏

Hollie Jackson is also a good enough narrator to pull off the different characters and their nuances.